by TYLER HATHAWAY
EAST ROCHESTER, NY– The Le Roy/Caledonia-Mumford and East Rochester/Gananda football programs are very familiar with one another.
In 2023, Le Roy and East Rochester/Gananda met in the Section V Class C championship game, with Le Roy coming out on top. After Le Roy and Caledonia-Mumford merged programs in 2024, the Rivals played the Bombers twice- including that year’s Class C title game, with East Rochester/Gananda taking both matchups.
But on Friday night, the Rivals got their revenge. Le Roy/Caledonia-Mumford (3-1) came into East Rochester and left with a 33-19 win after bringing a 21-0 lead into the halftime break.
“There was a little extra motivation tonight, there’s no doubt,” said head coach Mike Humphrey. “You’d like to approach the game the same no matter who you’re playing, but they ended our season last year. We used that as a little motivation. I just like that we played good enough to beat a good team.”
The win comes after a 21-18 road loss to Hornell/Arkport-Canaseraga last week.
“It feels good bouncing back from a loss.” said Humphrey. “We thought we were good enough to win (last week), but we were not. Feels like we’re on track. We gotta clean some things up, but this was a good opponent, an opponent that we’re probably gonna see again.”
Humphrey’s squad opened the game with a quick touchdown drive that featured a 32-yard pass from quarterback Brady McClurg to Donovan Gaillard to flip the field before McClurg connected with Jude Christ a few plays later for an 11-yard touchdown.
“That’s what you hope for right?” Humphrey said of the opening drive. “They gave us the ball. We’d rather be on defense to start the game, but if they’re gonna give us the ball, we need to set the momentum right off the bat. And we did.”
It looked like East Rochester/Gananda was going to quickly respond, with a 40-yard run by Ray’Davion Allen setting the Bombers up with first and goal. But Humphrey’s defense ended up getting a stop on fourth down, their first of three on a night that also saw them force two turnovers. East Rochester/Gananda (3-1) didn’t find the endzone for the first 38 minutes of the game.
“It was great,” Humphrey said of his defense’s play. “We just got to play four quarters. For three quarters there they (the Bombers) couldn’t do much. But we have to go for four quarters.”
In the second quarter, the Rivals found the end zone on McClurg’s second touchdown pass- this time on a fade route to Austin Metzger that was a few plays after McClurg kept an option for 40 yards to move Le Roy/Caledonia-Mumford into Bomber territory. And after the defense forced a strip sack on the next drive, a halfback pass to McClurg that moved the ball 30 yards had the Rivals’ offense threatening again. Connor Elmore found the endzone on a 30-yard run two plays later.
“That loss last week, we just didn’t have the juice early on at all,” said Humphrey. “Tonight was completely different, I’m happy we responded the way we did.”
After a quiet first eight minutes of the third quarter, Le Roy/Caledonia-Mumford put together a grindy drive that featured a couple of completions by McClurg and a run by Cameron Riggi that set the Rivals back up in the redzone. A 13-yard scamper by McClurg on the first play of the fourth quarter made the score 27-0. The junior ended his night with four total touchdowns- two through the air and two on the ground.
“This year, even late last year and all of the offseason, the conversation with the staff was we needed to throw the ball a little bit more, because Brady (McClurg) can throw,” said Humphrey. “And we needed to run the ball a little bit more with Brady because he can run. He’s just been doing exactly what we’ve been coaching him to do, doing exactly what he’s very capable of doing.”
The Bombers responded with a quick touchdown drive that ended in a 25-yard touchdown run by Allen. And after Le Roy/Caledonia-Mumford went three-and-out, a bad snap on the punt operation set East Rochester/Gananda up on the Rivals’ five-yard line. Just five minutes after going up by four scores, Le Roy/Caledonia-Mumford’s lead had shrunk to 14.
The Rivals didn’t flinch. McClurg led a drive that burned five minutes off the clock, saw him complete a 38-yard pass to Gaillard, and ended with a 4-yard run by the quarterback to boost his team’s lead back to 20. Humphrey huddled up with his entire team before the drive.
“Just told them to keep your composure and stay positive. Things were getting down and getting down in a hurry, but there’s seven minutes left. You’re up by 14. There’s a lot to be positive about. Not a lot to relax about either, but we just needed to regain our composure, stop panicking, and do what we did for the first three and a half quarters.
Robbie Dettman finished with 128 passing yards and two touchdowns for East Rochester/Gananda. Allen carried the ball 10 times for 101 yards and a score. Justice Allen led the Bombers in all receiving categories, finishing with six catches for 78 yards and a touchdown.
“When we’re doing what we’re being asked to do, and we’re all on the same page, we’re a pretty good team,” Humphrey said. “And that’s something that hopefully gets ironed out as the season goes on.”
Le Roy/Caledonia-Mumford hosts Alexander/Pembroke next Friday.
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